English Language Arts Teaching Resources
Explore English Language Arts (ELA) activities, worksheets, games and more teaching resources created by teachers for teachers just like you! You'll find ELA resources aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and ELAR resources that align to TEKS.
This collection of teacher-created resources for elementary and middle school teachers was designed with students and teachers in mind, including differentiated activities and worksheets ready to print and add to your lesson plan.
Each game, activity and more have undergone a careful review by a member of our ELA teaching team to ensure it's classroom — and student — ready.
What Is ELA in Education?
In most educational instances, ELA stands for English Language Arts, the subject that encompasses reading, writing, speaking, listening and language skills development in American schools.
ELA curriculum standards vary from state to state and even school district to school district, but they typically include instruction in the following areas:
1. Reading
In ELA classes, students learn to read, understand and interpret a variety of texts, including fiction and non-fiction. They develop reading comprehension skills such as identifying main ideas and making inferences while building their understanding of vocabulary.
2. Writing
As they progress through elementary and middle school, students learn the skills they need for effective written communication by learning to create types of texts — such as narratives and persuasive essays, research papers, and descriptive pieces.
They also learn to organize their ideas, use proper grammar and punctuation and refine their writing through revision and editing.
3. Speaking and Listening
While English instruction in the US was once heavily focused on grammar and reading comprehension, education experts saw a call to move toward a more student-centered means of teaching that paved the way to today's ELA curriculum ... and to the inclusion of oral communication as a focus in the curriculum.
Through speaking and listening activities, kids learn to express themselves clearly, listen actively, ask questions, participate in discussions and deliver presentations. They also learn to articulate their thoughts and understand different perspectives while developing their critical thinking abilities.
4. Language
Finally, students study grammar, vocabulary and syntax to enhance their understanding of English and how it should be used.
The curriculum includes proper sentence structure, word choice, spelling and punctuation rules. Language instruction also includes figurative language, idioms and understanding context.
ELA as English Language Acquisition
You may have noticed that we said ELA stands for English Language Arts in most educational instances. So, what else can it stand for?
In some schools, ELA is the abbreviation used for English Language Acquisition, and it's the name given to programs created to help English language learners as they tackle the language.
This form of ELA has marked similarities with the ELA described above, as it focuses on helping students build oral, reading and writing skills. However, there are distinct differences as one focuses on educating native speakers and the other on ELL students.
English vs. Language Arts — Why Is English Called Language Arts?
Some of your students may have parents who remember attending English classes as children but are unfamiliar with the concept of English language arts.
How do you explain the difference to them?
The fact is, some districts may well use the term English for what another district terms "English language arts." In other places, the two refer to very different concepts. In many areas, English is the name for courses taught on a high school level, while English language arts applies to elementary level work.
To explain why their children are enrolled in language arts coursework, it may be helpful to break down the various components of language arts — as we have done above — and their role in students' literacy growth.
What Is ELAR?
ELAR stands for English Language Arts and Reading. While much of the country's schools follow an ELA curriculum, ELAR is unique to Texas, where ELAR is an integrated subject that combines the study of language arts skills with the development of reading abilities.
This collection includes hundreds of ELAR activities, aligned directly with TEKS standards to ensure Texas teachers have everything they need for their lesson plans.
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End of Year -Silly Story Worksheets
Engage your students in grammar review with a set of end-of-year Silly Stories worksheets.
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Letter Sounds Games - Four in a Row
Practice applying letter-sound correspondence with 26 picture cards, 26 letter cards, and a beginning letter sounds picture game board.
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Final e Board Game - A_E
Practice decoding final -e conventions for representing the long 'a' vowel sound with our board game and set of word cards.
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CVCC Word Work Mat
Practice segmenting and spelling simple words with this set of 24 CVCC picture task cards.
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FIND IT! L Blends Board Game
Practice decoding and spelling words with this board game that focuses on L consonant blends.
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Final 'e' Board Game - I_E
Practice decoding final -e conventions for representing the long 'i' vowel sound with our board game and set of word cards.
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Rhyming Word Cards
Reinforce students' knowledge of rhyming words with this set of 30 picture cards.
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Grade 4 Daily Warm-Up – PowerPoint 3
A 67-slide PowerPoint presentation containing a variety of quick warm-up activities.
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Literary Plot Elements - Graphic Organizer
Familiarize students with finding the 5 elements of plot in a literary text.
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10-100 Book Challenge Reading Log Bookshelf Template
Start and track progress through your reading challenge with a fun 100 Book Challenge reading log bookshelf template!
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'AI' Diphthong Vowel Team Board Game
Decode words with the ai long vowel team in this word card board game.
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Rhyming Bingo Game
Play a Rhyming Bingo Game to help your beginning readers learn to identify rhyming words and word families.
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Multisyllable Word List Resource Pack
Print and use a multisyllable word list to introduce your students to more complex words and syllable patterns.
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Kn, Ph and Wr Digraph Picture Cards - Free
Use our Digraph Picture Cards to introduce your students to kn, ph and wr digraph words.
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Sweet Sight Words - Pre-K Dolch Sight Words Board Game
Practice reading high-frequency words with this board game of 41 pre-kindergarten Dolch sight word cards.
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FIND IT! R Blends Board Game
Practice decoding and spelling words with this board game that focuses on R consonant blends.
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Final 'e' Board Game - O_E
Practice decoding final -e conventions for representing the long 'o' vowel sound with our board game and set of word cards.
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Oxford Wordlist Mats - Words 1 to 354
Use this set of five Oxford Wordlist Mats as a planning tool for high frequency word activities.
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Parts of Speech Game Board
Reinforce your parts of speech lesson with our differentiated parts of speech game board.
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'EE' Vowel Team Board Game
Decode words with the ee long vowel team in this word card board game.
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OA Vowel Team Board Game
Practice decoding words with the oa vowel team in this board game.
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Initial Blends Game
Increase reading confidence with this initial blends game that engages learners while reviewing 22 beginning blends.
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Vowel Digraph Bingo
Play our vowel digraph bingo game to engage your students while increasing their reading confidence.
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Letter Sound Bingo
Practice applying letter-sound correspondence with a set of 20 BINGO game boards and cards.
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Letter Sounds Matching Game - Parking Lot
Practice applying letter-sound correspondence with this set of upper and lowercase letter cards and matching game boards.
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FIND IT! Consonant Digraphs Board Game
Practice decoding words that include 4 examples of consonant digraphs with our digraph flashcards and board game set.
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'AY' Diphthong Vowel Team Board Game
Decode words with the ay long vowel team in this board game.
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Read the Room - Classroom School Supply Labels With Pictures
Label where school supplies and equipment are housed in your classroom with free printable classroom labels with pictures.
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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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Final e BINGO - O_E
Decode final e words with the long o vowel sound using this set of 20 bingo game boards.
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Sweet Sight Words - First Grade Dolch Sight Words Board Game
Practice reading high-frequency words with this board game of 41 First Grade Dolch sight word cards.
- English Language Arts Worksheets
- English Language Arts Games
- English Language Arts Templates
- English Language Arts Posters
- English Language Arts Flashcards
- English Language Arts Word Walls
- English Language Arts Projects
- English Language Arts for Pre-K
- English Language Arts for Kindergarten
- English Language Arts for 1st Grade
- English Language Arts for 2nd Grade
- English Language Arts for 3rd Grade
- English Language Arts for 4th Grade
- English Language Arts for 5th Grade
- English Language Arts for 6th Grade
- English Language Arts for 7th Grade